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Londoño is one of the many students that opt for selling products from suppliers outside of school instead of her making her own. This saves her time, makes her money, and helps her bosses advertise their brands.

“La Hora del Venado contacted me and offered me the product. They’re actually alumni of the school. They told me the benefits and what price I should sell the brownies for (which is 2.500 pesos). I accepted and I sell for them because it’s always good to have some extra money,” said Londoño.

La Hora del Venado is a rapidly growing company, that are making themselves known mainly through vendors in schools and presence in social media. The people behind it are Camila Ortiz, a former TCS student with experience in student sales, and her sister Mariana Ortiz, who joined her later in the process.

“I quit the company I was working for and found myself with lots of time on my hands, so I was thinking of things to do. Then I remembered I used to make cupcakes and sell them in school, and actually did pretty well,” C. Ortiz said about the startup of her company. “I started making [brownies and brigadeiros] and selling them at my university, but I knew I didn’t have time to go around school selling, so I asked myself, ‘What business model am I going to use?’ That’s when I decided to look for people I knew in schools and universities. As of today, we have 24 vendors.”

La Hora del Venado offers their goods in Marymount, TCS, CES, La Colegiatura, EAFIT, and EIA; they take orders on Instagram as well. Basing the company’s sales on students gives La Hora del Venado a large market, but having such a large network of people can be costly.

“The company works this way: one-third [of what is earned] is the expenses, one-third is the profit, and one-third goes to the vendors. So we could technically earn two-thirds if we sold without any help from students at schools, but right now it works, because I feel it’s a good way a new product can be known,” C. Ortiz explained.

The Ortiz sisters handle finances, reaching the vendors, and the baking. On the other hand, students like Londoño take advantage of the opportunity to make money without sacrificing her time.

“In eleventh grade, there’s a lot of homework and a lot of work that we have to do. Also, I’m involved in a lot of clubs in school so I don’t have extra time,” Londoño said when asked about why she didn’t make her own products. “I don’t have time to [make] brownies, so it’s easier to sell La Hora del Venado’s brownies.”

Londoño and many others remain as vendors for La Hora del Venado and are making the brand to become more recognized. As the Ortiz sisters’ business is growing, so is their business model.

“I think it’s awesome that people can sell in school like I did when I was younger and be the face of our brand. For now, it’s working out great with Maria and the other vendors, but I don’t think it is part of the long-term plan.”